Singer Barbara Mandrell, right, appears with host Troy Marden on “Volunteer Gardener” on Nashville Public Television in 2009.
IF YOU GO* What: “Wits’ End – A Collector’s Garden” with Troy Marden.* When: 7-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 7.* Where: Humanities Auditorium, Chattanooga State Community College, 4501 Amnicola Highway.* Admission: $5 donation to the UT/Hamilton County Extension Endowment Fund.* Phone: 423-855-6113.* Email: tstebbins@utk.edu.
He has hobnobbed with celebrity gardeners as co-host of “Volunteer Gardener” on Nashville Public Television and had his work published in a wide variety of magazines, including Horticulture, Fine Gardening, Garden Design and Southern Living.
On Tuesday, Jan. 7, Troy Marden will be in Chattanooga to lead a gardening seminar presented by the University of Tennessee Master Gardeners of Hamilton County.
“Wits’ End – A Collector’s Garden” will focus on how Marden “transformed his own yard in Nashville from hilly clay to rolling beauty,” says Hamilton County Extension agent Tom Stebbins.
According to a news release, Marden has developed his personal garden, “Wits’ End,” over the past five years on a cold and windy ridge with heavy clay soil. Through perseverance and wise plant choices, the barren ridge has become a beautiful space filled with rare plants from around the world. Marden’s objective is to “create captivating and unusual plant combinations that are rich in texture and color in every season.”